Metal building construction



Dec. 212, 1942. I E. c. BERNHARDT 23 06,034

METAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed May 14, 1938 INVEN'rb R Fan/mo C. 35001401 Quid Patented Dec: 22, 1342 UNITED STATES 2 Claims.

This invention relates to metal building con-. structions, and more especially it relates to constructions of the character mentioned that may be assembled on the site from shop-formed metal sheets and shapes, and pre-fabricated units such as doors and window frames. The invention is of primary utility for the construction of small, light frame buildings such as dwelling houses, but may be used advantageously in garages and other outbuildings and small commercial structures.

The chief object of the invention is to provide an improved metal building constructioncomprising an improved ventilating system incorporated therein. Other objects will be manifest as the specification proceeds.

Of the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section through a building embodying the invention, in its preferred form;

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view, on a larger scale, of the top of the foundation wall and a portion of the structure resting thereon; and

Figure 3 is a section of the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. 1 a conventional building construction of which 20 is the usual foundation wall of concrete or hollow tile, and 2| is the floor of the basement, which floor may be of cement or concrete. Supported upon the top of the foundation wall 20 are a series of suitably spaced, horizontal floor sills 22, and rising from the top of said foundation walls are suitably spaced, vertically arranged studding members 23, the lower ends of the studding members being riveted, welded, or bolted to the floor sills 22. studding members 23 for the interior partitions of the building are supported upon the floor sills 22. Preferably the sills 22 and studding 23 are formed of sheet steel, preferably of channel shape, although other shapes may be used if found desirable. Furthermore, special fabricated beams may be used in place of the floor sills if desired. Preferably the studding 23 used in the interior partitions of the building is of narrower width than that used in the outside walls of the building. Secured to the tops of the studding members 23 are obliquely disposed rafters 24, which rafters have their other ends secured to a metal ridge pole structure 25 of proper shape I ceiling sills 26 that are constructed similar to I the floor sills 22, but may be lighter in weight. The ceiling sills 23 may rest upon the upper ends of the studding members 23 that are in the partitions of the building, as shown in Fig. 1. As is best shown in Fig. 2, the flooring of the building consists of corrugated metal sheeting 28 that rests upon the floor sills-22, or, in the case of the attic flooring, upon the ceiling sills 26. A layer of suitable insulating material 29 overlies the corrugated metal 28, and a layer of plastic 30 overlies the said insulating material 29. If desired, other types of floor covering such as rubber, linoleum, or wood may be laid upon the insulating material 29. Preferably the attic flooring does not extend completely to the ends of the ceiling sills 23, thus providing an open space about the attic flooring for a purpose subsequently to be explained.

The outside of the building is covered with laminated sheathing in sections of convenient size. Said sheathing consists of an outer ply of thin, light gauge metal 32, and an inner ply 33 of fibrous, matted, insulating material, preferably of a fire-resisting nature, of which several are available on the market. The metal sheathing 32 may be made from hot or cold rolled strip steel, rustless steel, or ingot iron, and has a durable weather resisting coating on its exposed surface, which coating may consist of baked enamel, rubberized paint, or cementitious material. It is also contemplated that the metal sheathing may consist of copper or aluminum sheet material. The insulating sheathing 33 is coextensive with each metal sheet 32, and for securing the two plies of sheathing together nails or short sections of wire may be welded to the inner face of the metal, said nails or wires being of such length as to extend through the insulation and be crimped upon the surface thereof. But relatively few nails or wires are required for this purpose since the insulation sheathing joints may be eifected in two different ways, either of which may be preferable in certain situations. One means of sealing comprises the use of metal trimming strips 44 as shown best in Fig. 2. Each trimming strip 44 is channel shape in section, and of such width as to overlie the adjacent margins of adjacent sheathing sheets 32, the legs of the channel bearing against the outer face of the sheathing. The margins of the metal sheathing 02 are outwardly bent at right angles along a narrow marginal zone, and sealing strips l5, 45 of resilient rubber composition are interposed between the out-turned margins of the sheathing and the concealed face of the overing material 58. Preferably the insulating ma-.

terial 58 is of the same composition as ,used'for the exterior insulation, although it may be of less thickness. It may be secured to the sheet" metal in the same manner as that employed in the exterior sheathing so as to be handled as a unit with the metal sheet 51. The latter may be of the same metal as employed for the exterior sheathing, but preferably is of somewhat lighter gauge. The interior sheathing is attached to the studding members 23 by means of machine screws 59 that pass through the sheathing and are threaded into tapped holes in the studding, said screws being tightened so as to compress the sheathing insulation against the studding. Themachine screws may be round-head, oval head,

or any other type of head as may be desired.

The roof of the building is constructed somewhat similar to the outer walls except that no inside sheathing is used. As shown in Fig. l, the roof comprises, thermal insulation 53 overlaid with metal 64, both being secured to the rafters 24 in a manner that provides a water tight construction. However, it is not essential that the plain metal roofing 64 be employed, and if desired other types of weather-resisting roofing may be used, for example, corrugated steel or iron, or asbestos or rubberoid shingles. when heavier roofing material is employed, purlines may be 'provided to reinforce the rafters.

Am suitable flashing may be used at the ridge of the roof.

From the foregoing description. it will be seen that lntemal and external sheathing on the outside walls of the building define vertical ducts between adjacent studding members 23, which ducts are continuous from the foundation 20 to the attic space except where interrupted by doors 1 and windows. Preferably the studding at each side of the window frames, below the lower transverse channels 80, have their webs apertured at 93, 93, as best shown in Fig. 1, to avoid the pocketing of air below the windows. The vertical ducts open into the attic space for the reason that the attic floor does not extend completely over the ceiling sills 25. Said ducts are utilized in the heating of the building in the winter time, and in the cooling thereof during the summer season.

For heating the building, a gas, coal, or oil fired warm air furnace 95 is used, said furnace bein located in the basement of the building and provided with the usual cold air intake duct 96, and warm air delivery pipe 91, the latter including a control damper 98. The delivery pipe 91 discharges into a vertical duct 99 located in a partition of the building, the upper end of said duct 99 discharging heated air into the rooms of the building through registers I00, I00 located near the floor. Cold air is removed from the rooms through registers IOI located in the outer walls thereof near the floor. Said registers IOI provide openings into the space between the interior and exterior sheathing of the building, and said intersheathing space opens into a large, continuous duct I02 located in the basement, beneath the floorin at the top of the foundation wall 20. The intake duct 96 of the furnace extends from the latter to the duct I02. The arrangement is such as to conserve heat energy to the interior walls or partitions of the building, the air leaving the rooms by means of ducts in the exterior walls, with the result that radiation of heat through the outer walls is reduced. If desired a blower fan I03 may be associated with the hot air pipe 91 for effecting forced circulation of air, and said fan may comprise humidifying apparatus (not shown) if desired.

For effecting the cooling of the building in the summer season, one or more short ducts I05 are mounted within the partitions of the building, said ducts opening into the rooms through registers I05 located at their lower ends, said registers being located near the ceiling of the rooms. The upper ends of ducts I05 open into the space between the ceilings of the rooms and the attic Y flooring, so that air drawn theret-hrough has access to the attic space beyond the edges of the attic flooring, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. l. Registers I09 are mounted in the outside walls, near the ceiling of each room to enable air from the latter to pass into the inter-sheathin space and thence upwardly to the attic space. A blower fan I01 located in the attic and discharging to the exterior of the building through louvers I08 is provided for drawing air through registers I06, I09. Fan I01, also draws air upwardly from. between the inner and outer sheathing of the outer walls, thus cooling the latter and maintaining the interior of the building at lower temperature. The registers I06, I09 will be closed in the winter season when the heating system is in operation. If desired the blower fan I03 may be operated in the summer season to effect a more rapid change of air in the building, in which case the damper 98 in pipe 91 will be closed.

The invention provides a building construction that readily and emciently is heated in the winter season and cooled in the summer season without requiring an extensive and expensive system of ducts and pipes, the inter-wall spaces being arranged to serve as ducts. The feature of the apertures 93 in the studding beside the windows prevents the formation of a dead air space thereat and thereby obviates steaming or sweating of inclosed surfaces.

Modification" may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A building construction having outside walls comprising inner and outer sheathing that defines a space therebetween that is continuous from the basement tothe attic of the structure, a floor for said attic and a ceiling for the subjacent rooms spaced from said floor, a floor in the room above the basement, said inter-wall space opening into the basement below the last mentioned floor and also into the space between the ceiling and attic floor at the margins of the latter, a duct extending completely about the interior of the basement of the building in communication with said inter-wall space, said duct being adapted to oral. g

connect with the intake side of a heating plant, partitions within the building providing interwall spaces that are in communication with the space between the ceiling and attic flooring, and

openings in the inner sheathing of said outside walls, and in the partition walls enabling air from the rooms of the building to pass into said interwall spaces.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1 including an opening in the attic floor about the margins thereof to provide an outlet for the space between attic floor and ceiling, and an opening 5 from the attic to the exterior of the building.

C. BERNHARDT. 

